Canisius closes out its 2010 home schedule with a three-game, weekend series against the Manhattan College Jaspers.

Canisius holds a three-game lead in the conference standings over Manhattan and Marist, playing each of those teams during the next two weekends.

Canisius and Manhattan have met in an elimination game in the MAAC Championship each of the last two seasons, with Canisius winning both games (16-7 in 2008 and 3-2 in 2009).

Canisius has won 14 of out its last 17 MAAC home games and is 33-9 (78.6 percent) at the Demske Sports Complex in MAAC games since April 21, 2007.

Canisius has won six straight and 12 of its last 14 home MAAC series.

Canisius and Manhattan have won more conference games than any other MAAC school since the start of the 2008 season. The Golden Griffins are 50-13 (.794) while the Jaspers are 47-16 (.746). No other MAAC school has a winning percentage above .570.

In MAAC games, Canisius is hitting .386, 75 points better than any other team. The Griffs rank fourth in ERA (4.28) and are second in fielding (.971).

Canisius is one of seven teams in the country with a winning percentage of .867 or better in conference play.

Since the start of the 2008 season, Canisius has 108 wins — six more than any other team in the Northeast region (St. John’s has 102) and 17 more than any other team in the MAAC (Manhattan has 91).

Canisius won its 30th game of the season on Sunday, giving the Golden Griffins 30 wins for the third consecutive season. Those are the only three seasons in program history with 30 wins.

After Thursday’s games, Canisius (31-16) is one of four teams in the Northeast region with at least 30 victories — Connecticut (35-9), Pittsburgh (32-11) and St. John’s (30-13).

On Thursday, junior Josh Marshall and Silverman were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I First Team while Choy was named to the Second Team. Marshall and Silverman are now eligible for Academic All-American honors while Choy earns Second-Team honors for the second consecutive season.

At the start of the week, Silverman ranked ninth in the country in runs scored and currently has 64 runs scored on the season. Silverman is three runs away from tying the program-record of 67 set by Kevin Mahoney during the 2009 season.

Silverman has scored a run in 20 straight games, the longest streak in program history.

At the start of the week, junior Steve McQuail ranked 17th in the country and currently has 62 RBI on the season, matching the program record set by Kevin Mahoney last season.

In 47 games this season, Canisius has used 39 different batting orders and 25 different defensive lineups.

MANHATTAN SCOUT

Manhattan comes to Western New York as the hottest team in the MAAC, having won nine straight games overall after a 13-7 win over the New York Institute of Technology on Tuesday.

The Jaspers have bounced back from a 5-5 start to conference play by winning five straight MAAC games, outscoring its opponents 36-12 in those give games.

Manhattan is 25-13 overall and has two wins at West Virginia and a win at No. 10 Miami during the non-conference schedule.

Junior Mark Onorati leads the team with a .434 batting average to go along with a team-best 10 stolen bases. Junior Chad Salem is hitting .398 with 12 home runs and 53 RBI.

In conference play, Manhattan ranks third in batting average (.309), third in earned run average (4.15) and third in fielding percentage (.969).

In 15 MAAC games, Manhattan has four players hitting .333 or better.

Game 1 starter Mike Gazzola is 3-0 with a 3.90 ERA in five MAAC starts while game 2 starter Tom Costigan is 3-1 in five MAAC starts with a 3.00 ERA.

CANISIUS-MANHATTAN SERIES HISTORY

Manhattan holds a 28-14 lead in the all-time series between the teams.

In the last meeting between the teams at the Demske Sports Complex, Canisius took two of three from the Jaspers — the first series win by Canisius over Manhattan since the 2001 season.

Manhattan took two of three from Canisius last season in Riverdale, winning the rubber match 11-7.

Canisius has elminated Manhattan from the MAAC Championship each of the past two seasons (16-7 in 2008 and 3-2 in 2009), behind a complete game from Shane Davis in each win.